Fic: Tongues of Men and Angels (McKay/Sheppard, PG13)

[sgasesa-admin.livejournal.com]

Title: Tongues of Men and Angels
Author: mad_maudlin
Recipient: ca_pierson
Pairing: John/Rodney, OC/OC (sorta), implied past John/Nancy (sorta)
Length: 58,428
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: SG-1 themed AU; original characters; whump
Disclaimer: Not mine. Never mine. ::poke poke::
Author's Notes: All hail L, queen of betas, long may she reign. This longassed thing is the result of National Novel Writing Month, unemployment, and my recip's request for plot. CA, this is probably more plot that you actually wanted, but I hope it meets your expectations. The title is from First Corinthians 13, a chapter better known for its ruminations on faith, hope and love.
Summary: When SG-4 is ambushed offworld, an injured Major John Sheppard must put his trust in a Tok'ra agent named McKay to survive. But what secrets is McKay keeping about his mission, the planet, and his own motives for helping John?


( Tongues of Men and Angels )

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Quite an amazing action/adventure/romance! Love the SG1 blending here.

[mad_maudlin]

Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[ca-pierson.livejournal.com]

*hops up and down squeeing* Wow! I absolutely loved it, this is probably my best Christmas present this year! :D

Rodney as a Tok'ra host ... that was such a brilliant idea. I don't even know how to convey how much I adore your brain for coming up with that one. It was quite the ride and I loved the interactions between Rodney and John and the dream sequences between John and Kharoush were adoreable.

"Of course not," McKay said. "Most people can't get over the 'ick' reaction long enough to consider the benefits. But given the choice between Tanys or a life spent in a wheelchair, drinking through a tube and watching people like Malcolm Tunney and Peter Kavenaugh insult physics, while I couldn't even raise a hand to send them a particularly savage e-mail...well, what kind of a choice is that?" - This was so Rodney it made me laugh out loud and go "awww" all at the same time.

And this one I loved because it's exactly what I think about Jack sometimes:

Rodney's mouth feel open before O'Neill was entirely finished with this speech. While John's brain spun blankly, Kharoush said softly, I have decided I like this one.

I think he might be insane, John said.

But what glorious madness.

*hugs her santa* thank you sooooo much!

[mad_maudlin]

::bows:: I had so much fun writing this, and I was so worried about whether you'd like it! I'm not the only one who's written Tok'ra!Rodney, I know, but this plot bunny wouldn't leave me alone...

[rissabby.livejournal.com]

Excellent adventure.

I'm not too coherent, as I can barely keep my eyes open, but I enjoyed this very much.

I liked Rodney as a Tok'ra. I agree that he's someone who could adapt to the situation. Although, I bet his early days of 'blending' were probably interesting, to say the least.

John's dreams were a good way of getting him used to what was happening without him having to relinquish any control.

And, I'm glad you explored some ideas about Tok'ra relationships and society. There have to be a lot of possible stories there.

[kickair8p.livejournal.com]

"I liked Rodney as a Tok'ra. I agree that he's someone who could adapt to the situation. Although, I bet his early days of 'blending' were probably interesting, to say the least."

Ooooo yeah -- I wanna pre-quel! Still'n'all, excellent fic.

~

[korilian.livejournal.com]

This was absolutely spectacular! I really loved your Tok'ra OCs. They were often 'sort of bad guy's' in canon so it was really neat to see them as something more then wacky aliens there to cause trouble for SG1.

And Rodney made a great Tok'ra. he always gets things done, but he works best when he has someone with him to keep him focussed and calm. Guess he has that all the time now.

[mad_maudlin]

Yes, that's exactly how I see Rodney and Tanys working together--he needs somebody to keep his shit together for him, and luckily she likes him that way. :-)

[mecurtin.livejournal.com]

Oh WOW. I mean, wow. Plot!!! And they're still them! I really like having an AU where J&R don't have some sort of instantaneous unique connection, but where it has to *grow*, like a real feeling. And O'Neill is a scream.

The OCs are excellent, fitting in flawlessly and not (as too often happens) hijacking the plot to lecture the characters on what they should be doing/feeling. The setting, the mistakes, the banter and the rubbing each other wrong, the h/c, it's all good.

Santa been good to us this year.

[mad_maudlin]

Thank you! I was actually worried about selling the romance when it starts out in such bad terms. That, and the fact that it's technically an OT4...

[tzzzz.livejournal.com]

That was absolutely wonderful. I really enjoyed reading it and the tokra behavior was perfect. Thanks so much for writing!

[mad_maudlin]

Thank you for reading! ::bows::

[dossier.livejournal.com]

great story! I had to get a little teary eyed and sniff over the utter aloneness that John felt, and smile at the same time, because Kharoush. The dream/conversations were fabulous, John was finally getting some seriously needed head shrinking from someone that he couldn't fool or shake off. The action and plot was wonderful in and of itself, and not just a clothes hanger from the McShep + 2. thank you for a much needed shot in the arm, I really needed this.

[mad_maudlin]

You're welcome! It's so convenient to have a symbiote around when you need to get someone as screwed-up as John to exposit. :-)

[cofax7]

Oh, what a great plot! Very fun, and I really enjoyed John's slowly growing relationship with Kharoush, who like all the best Tok'ra is dry and knowing.

That was a great way to spend a boring afternoon.

[mad_maudlin]

Thank you!

[melagan.livejournal.com]

I haven't even starting reading this yet, but I have to tell you the whole premise is cool

[mad_maudlin]

Thank you! I try my best.

[binkii822.livejournal.com]

I adored this! I loved the plotty plot and the Tok'ra!Rodney, and the slowly growing relationship between the two of them! Excellently done!

[mad_maudlin]

Thank you! I was rather proud of the plot.

[gail19.livejournal.com]

I'm gonna have to read this a few more times in order to be able to leave a sufficiently coherent comment, but in the the meantime... OMG wow!

[mad_maudlin]

Wow, I've made somebody speechless. My work here is done.

[scarlettandblue.livejournal.com]

This was such a cool idea and so well done
What a great pressie santa!!

[mad_maudlin]

Thanks! I'm glad so many people seem to like it.

[melagan.livejournal.com]

This was a wonderful read, and I loved every bit of it! You had me rooting for Tanys and Kharoush just as much as for John and Rodney. And O'Neill had me grinning.

[mad_maudlin]

Thank you! I rewrote that last chapter so many times, because O'Neill is so hard to get right.

[tavabean.livejournal.com]

What a terrific story!
I never wanted it to end. :)

[mad_maudlin]

...that would make it a very long story indeed. Thank you!

[pir8fancier.livejournal.com]

WHAT GREAT STORYTELLING!

[mad_maudlin]

Thanks! :-D

[tingler.livejournal.com]

I really really liked this. I'm not usually that into SGA AU that don't end up in Atlantis but this one hooked me hard from the get-go. Great plot, great characterization--I loved that it took John awhile to put it together at first. His gradual acceptance of the situation seemed very real. Excellent, excellent job!

I just have one little question--I might have missed the reason--why didn't John and Rodney steal the hatak they were stealing the parts from? Of course, if they had, they probably never would have found the lab and the ZPM, etc., but still, they were already *in* it...

[(Anonymous)]

They didn't jack a hatak because they didn't have the right security codes to unlock its computers; if they'd tried to launch it up it would've locked down and trapped them inside.

At least, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

--Santa

[sian1359.livejournal.com]

What a delightful read.

[mad_maudlin]

Thank you!

[blackchaps.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed this very much. Nice and long and plotty and fun and a touch angsty. Great job!

[mad_maudlin]

Thank you!

[nova-bright.livejournal.com]

This is such a good fic. Excellent might have been style fic, and great John and Rodney voices. What a delight to read!

[mad_maudlin]

Thank you! I'm always a little unsure of my John voice.

[bedofbones.livejournal.com]

This is so amazingly fantastic! I absolutely love Kharoush, and Tanys, and of course your Rodney and John, and the storyline was awesomely plotty. I seriously can't give you enough praise for this.

[mad_maudlin]

Thank you! I was actually uneasy about Kharoush and Tanys, since I know how some people react to OCs, so I'm glad people liked them.

[propinquitine.livejournal.com]

What a great story! The plot was very gripping and I liked how much you delved into the issues of being Tok'ra (both as a host and a symbiote). The characterization was excellent -- the backstories you developed for John and Rodney were very believable, and their reactions to each other and their situation were spot-on. I really enjoyed reading this!

[mad_maudlin]

Thank you! I always loved the Goa'uld/Tok'ra as characters on SG-1, and yet they paid very little attention to the experience of symbiosis or the psychology of the host/symbiote relationship. So this was a great chance to play with those ideas, or at least my interpretation of them.

[springwoof.livejournal.com]

fabulous story! I loved how plotty it was and enjoyed all the action; in the meantime, you didn't let us down on the romance or character development. I particularly enjoyed the dream sequences with Kharoush, and John slowly coming around to the idea of becoming a host, even as he comes around to liking, appreciating, and finally loving Rodney. I liked that becoming a host was a step up for John in this AU, something that would improve his lot in life. The way John got his symbiote was very believable, since I don't see John voluntarily *becoming* a host (he's so private), but can buy him becoming reconciled to it once it's a fact and he gets to know his symbiote. Really gripping reading. I enjoyed the story immensely, thank you!

[mad_maudlin]

Thanks! The dream sequences were important because I couldn't think of any other way to get John to talk about himself. :-) There was also a conversation that I ended up cutting, in which John points out that he would never have chosen Kharoush even to save both their lives, but it turned very, very depressing.

[rinsbane.livejournal.com]

This is a wonderful story. I love how involved it it, how it's detailed but never too much, and how gradually but naturally John comes to accept everything that's happened to him and how his life will be now.

[mad_maudlin]

Thanks! I knew from the outset that a story about John Sheppard becoming a Tok'ra couldn't ever be short, but I was a little surprised at how long it ended up.

[lavvyan.livejournal.com]

Oh, I liked this a lot! Plot and characterisations were great, though I do wish we'd gotten to know Tanys and Kharoush a bit better. Still, this kept me up until 2 am, and I don't regret it. ♥

[mad_maudlin]

Thank you! I was a little uncertain about how much Tanys and Kharoush to include, since I didn't want to overshadow John and Rodney's relationship, and I know some people react badly to OCs. I'm glad you enjoyed it overall, though!

[deliranteverse.livejournal.com]

I really cannot parse out what was my favorite part; therefore, I conclude that it was EVERYTHING.

Nothing short of amazing!

[mad_maudlin]

Thanks! ::takes a bow::